Neck Flowers

There are several uses for dandelions. One is to make necklaces from the flowers and than sit in the backyard and read. Luckily I have quite a few of the yellow symbols of spring in my possession and an artiste familiar with the construction of previously mentioned necklaces.



I played some outdoors tennis tonight. It was a beautiful night with some breeze and the tennis should have been great. What is the opposite of the zone? That's where I was tonight. Luckily most of the rest of the quartet were in the same neighborhood and we had a couple of close, but artistically miserable sets that took nearly two hours to finish. That's how it goes some nights in May.

And finally a family photo from the 1930's sometime. Marian, Dorothy, Leona, Lillie, Louise, and Marvin Anderson. The family is all gone now. My aunt Louise died this week at the age of 89. May they all rest in peace.

Cool Sunday in May

It was a rest day for me. I connected the water hose for the season and did some minor yard work before I took my usual walk around the neighborhood. There were a lot of people out and about, doing yard work and enjoying the sunshine.

The trees are blooming in St Paul. Many of them are quite pretty. This one is on the grounds of the law school on Summit. It seems that many of the most perfect lawns and best landscaped properties belong to private educational entities.

Spring-ish Activity

The morning was superb for tennis. There was some wind, but the sun was shining. We had eight older gentlemen show up at Marie Park for Saturday morning doubles. Three sets in two hours went on the record for me. I should probably keep a log of sets played this summer, but it seems like a tedious exercise.

I caught Unky Herb lying around on the grass in the back yard. I mowed it yesterday and it was inviting enough that he had to stretch out and contemplate the sky, or perhaps his next trip to London. It was probably the first opportunity of the year for such activity, since the year refuses to get very warm. He made it look like an inviting activity.



Some storms and rain passed to the north this afternoon, and the wind blew pretty hard, but the native plant expert was out pulling weeds and rescuing her plants from the invasive species that have moved in on them while she was away. I caught her hugging a clump of North American grass, species unknown to me. I think that she'll get the garden into pretty good shape in short order.

The rain never arrived in our part of the city.

The Ides of May

Finally. My biking season restarted. It was a nice day and the wind was very timid, plus KS was interested in looking over the native plants at Minnehaha Park. Biking was called for.

The creek is full of water and the falls are roaring. It's not Niagara Falls, but it's pretty nice.


The statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha are on an island in the creek and easily seen through the scant "early" spring foliage.


We found the native grasses in old Longfellow Park across Hiawatha Avenue from Minnehaha Falls. The plants are beginning to grow and thrive, but there is still a lot of last year's brown in view. There may be pictures later in the season.

On the way back home we had to stop and see if Guv T. Paw was at the mansion on Summit. There was no sign of the guy, but the legislature is in session, so he may be at work balancing the budget. There is word in some quarters that John McCain may tap him for the VP slot on the Republican presidential ticket. That could leave Minnesota with its first woman Governor: Carol Malnou. Stranger things could and have happened in the North Star state.


I have attained my first biking goals of May: double figures, and beating last month's total mileage. Woowee!

Greening Up

The rains came again today and I stayed off the bike paths. Ms KS, however, put in a few miles on a trip over to Hamline to have lunch with Auntie BB. And yesterday Unky Herb partook in the ride your bike to work week, by riding his bike to work - round trip of 28 miles. Good job by the young'uns. One day soon, I may begin to amass some miles myself. The photo is a tree that grows in Minneapolis, somewhere near the merge of Minnehaha Creek with the big river. I was there surveying the damage to the creek bed from the wall collapse last week. It has been reported in the Strib, with requisite photos and by the TV talking heads, so I expected drama. I found the scene of the collapse to be less than dramatic, so I'm going with this tree photo - the leaves are filling out in spite of a general lack of May warmth.



Yesterday, I played some tennis with the gang of geezers at the courts at Marie. Dr Bill, the retired professor of American Lit from NDSU brought a play bill advertising a play that he will be performing in June. Apparently he has a 15 minute performance where he plays Mark Twain at a small theatre in Minneapolis. He looks a little like Mark Twain, white bearded with a twinkle in his eye, so it may be something worth seeing. This gang of guys that I play tennis with are an interesting and varied group. And they're pretty good at the game, too.

Rained All Afternoon

For a Saturday afternoon, it was a washout. a gully buster, a throwback to Noah.

But I played some tennis in the morning. It was nice to be on the court after a two day rest, and rest seems to work for me. I played better and enjoyed the points a little more. But then, on the way home the rain started. The April showers have extended into May.

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Pretty Ones

Minnesota tulips are blooming this week. While not competing with the Michigan tulips in abundance, they do exhibit some brave beauty. These are growing at Linwood Playground.



Flat tire. The same rear tire that went flat last week on KS's Bianchi did it again this afternoon. On a day when I hoped to improve my monthly mileage, we set out for Como and perhaps a lap or two around the lake. We made it across Summit before the telltale hiss of air escaping from rubber came from her rear tire. We walked it home and went off to the bike shop to find out why the previously new tube was now leaking. The bike guy was apologetic and fixed it for free. It was a piece of glass stuck through the tire and unnoticed the first time. KS is seen below, looking a little sad perhaps, but the tire is back to round and has been around the block a few times as a test of its new reliability. It put a kink in the day, but there will be others like it.

Sack

Every once in a while a political cartoon will make me laugh out loud (LOL!). This morning the Strib featured this little topical beauty by their usual cartoonist - Sack is his name. He deserves a lot of credit for his sense of humor.



It was a coolish day and my outing was on foot again. Soon the weather may improve, if only the sunspots would start to appear on the sun. I walked by the baseball field at Linwood and a game was in session. The teams were about 4th graders, I'd guess, and they were in uniform playing what seemed to be a game that counted - notice the umpire. It's nice to see the game being played by kids and watching them do the same little things that I did at about the same age, but also realizing that they are operating with somewhat better equipment - metal bats and gloves that will actually catch a baseball.



I also stumbled upon several gardens which had blooming tulips. blazing red and bright yellow flowers, but I realized that my photos of tulips would pale next to those of the Tulip Festival going on downwind of here. The spring flowers are slowly appearing, but it sure has been a cold spring.

Little Maple Leaves

The backyard maple tree is continuing to leaf out. The tree thinks that spring has arrived and it is safe to green up.



It was a nice sunny day with a mild breeze. Tennis Dennis judged it to be in the top ten tennis ready days of the year - cool enough to be comfortable but not too cool. The sun was low enough in the sky to be a nonissue, so we played two pretty competitive sets in ninety minutes. Both Dennis and Jerry were there at Marie Park Courts, hitting little yellow tennis balls with each other on the other court. Dennis is about two weeks from his hip replacement and Jerry is reaching the end of his chemotherapy. They were being pretty gentle with the tennis balls, but were happy to be out on such a fine day in May. I pronounce them both hardcore.

KS went out for a run this afternoon. She motored over to the Cathedral and back, a fair distance. Then she went to yoga for ninety minutes this evening. At the same time Unky Herb was out biking in the city by the big river. It has been an active day in the T. Tousan household.

Tulip Time?

It must almost be Tulip Time along the eastern shore of the big lake. In honor thereof, and the bright sun of the morning I present a mini tulip (MinniTulip?). It's brightly colored, but not likely to last much longer.



The rains began to roll in around 1:30 this afternoon. I scuttled my plans to bike, but thought that I could get to Minnehaha Falls to check out the collapsed wall along the creek that was reported by the Strib this morning. I was able to get KS to go along for an outing to the usually scenic spot. No sooner did we leave the dry comfort of the auto, than it began to drizzle. It increased in volume as we made our way to the falls under cover of umbrella. I was able to take this photo of the falls - the waters rolling merrily over the precipice - but that was the end of the adventure, to be completed on a day without rain. Somewhere along the creek there is a collapsing wall that I'll find and photograph.



The April rains continue to grace the days of May.